lleck that he had erred After this incident, and Lady Jessica's instant forgiveness, Halleck was her most obedient servant When the Lady returned to Caladan in 10196, he asked for and received permission to accompany and guard her Scholarly opinion concerning Halleck's relationship with Lady Jessica after their return to the Atreides's old fief is divided In The Errant Sister, the most exhaustive biography of the Lady yet discovered, researcher Chatan S Meed advances the theory that the two became lovers before their departure for Caladan White his case is logically built, and his evidence sound-quotations from letters written by the Lady Jessica to Pnn cess Irulao, for example, in which she refers to Halleck as 'my most beloved friend' and makes her affection for the man quite obvious-it is entirely possible that the friendship between Halleck and his liege-lady was no more than a bond between companions who had suffered and triumphed together for many years and wished to share a quiet retirement It should also be noted that Leto II mentions no such intimacy between the two in his version of the Atreides family history and that he, other than any but the Lady or Halleck could best confirm its existence Until more concrete evidence to the contrarv can be uncovered, caution decrees that rumor should be ignored and their comradeship be considered exactly that In 10218, Halleck was again on Arrakis, having accompanied Lady Jessica on her journey to discover the true condition of her daughter Alia, and her grandchildren Leto and Ghanima Evidently she had revealed to him her knowledge that Aha had succumbed to Abomination, and her terror that her grandchildren might be similarly afflicted On her orders, Halleck arranged for the capture of Leto II then a boy of rune and subjected him to the boy's own version of the test-mashad (the Fremen expression for a tnal which is either passed honorably or not survived, a test of the soul) Leto's test consisted of being observed and questioned before, during, and after his exposure to large doses of melange it was believed that the spice-trance the drug induced had led Aha into possession, any indication that Leto would follow the path she had taken would require his death To assist him in conducting the test-and, perhaps more importantly to kill the boy should it prove unavoidable-Halleck had taken a Fremen named Namn father of one of Aha s chief priests Only when the test was nearing its conclusion did Halleck learn that Namn's true alliance was with Aha and that the instructions and notes from Lady Jessica" had in reality been forged by her daughter Namn, arter revealing himself, discovered that Halleck was not the soft easily bettered off-worlder the Fremen thought and paid for his mistake with his life Had Namn but lived to see it, Halleck s next action would have astonished him even more donning the slam Fremen's robes for disguise, Halleck walked into the desert, called a worm and rode it to Tuck s Sietch on the inner hp of False Wall As soon as possible after his arrival at the sietch, Halleck stole a 'thopter and used it 286 to escape to one of the small rebel sietches at Gara Rulen He was met there by Leto who wore what Halleck believed to be an odd type of stillsmt (it was actually the sandtrout skin the boy had made his own) and led the blind man known as The Preacher The Bene Gessent training which Lady Jessica had given him during their years on Caldddn convinced Halleck of two things that Leto spoke the truth when he denied being possessed, and thai Hie Preacher was, as had been rumored, Paul MuatTDib Atreides On the basis of those truths, Halleck agreed to return to Arrakeea with Leto and his father His presence there could not prevent Paul s being killed denouncing his sister to an angry crowd, but Halleck felt no guilt Years of association with die Atreides, combined with the teachings of his mistress, had shown Halleck how little the actions of an individual mattered in the face of history-or of legend Leto II, immediately after his assumption of the tfaroae, sent Halleck as his advisor in Stilgar's Council at Stetcn Tabr A faithful servant of House Atreides to (he end, he performed this function until his death m 10226 His demise marked the passing of the last of the original Duke Leto's advisors and his funeral was conducted with the ceremony and respect generally reserved for those of a much higher caste Lady Jessica made one last trip back front Caladan to pay her respects to her loyal servant and friend, and the emperor himself presided over the rites following the public service, Halleck's body was taken to Sictch Tabr for die private rretnen ceremony he had requested The watercounters representing his water were given to Leto H, who is believed to have kept them among his most prized possessions throughout his long life C W Fwrtfcer reference*; ATOEIDES, JESSICA I mid II, ATRBIDBS, tMJLt OffiDI PRIME RABBAN COUNT OLOSSU, Owttn S Meed, The Errant Sister B G Foun dafton Studies 9 (Diana.